📱 WhatsApp Is Getting Parental Control Features — Here’s What It Means

Balasahana Suresh
WhatsApp is reportedly developing built‑in parental control tools that could let parents or guardians supervise their child’s whatsapp account more effectively. This is a big step because, up until now, whatsapp hasn’t offered dedicated controls for minors like some other social apps do.

👨‍👩‍👧 Secondary Accounts for Minors

According to reports, whatsapp may soon introduce a system of “secondary accounts” that can be linked to a parent’s primary account.
Here’s how it’s expected to work:

  • A minor would use a secondary whatsapp account with limited features.
  • A parent or guardian, using their primary account, would be able to manage that linked account’s privacy settings.
  • This includes control over who the child can communicate with and visibility of activity‑related updates — without reading chats directly.
🔒 What parents Might Be Able to Do

While whatsapp still prioritizes privacy and end‑to‑end encryption, the parental control setup is expected to include:
✔ Restricting messages and calls to saved contacts only
✔ Controlling who can see the child’s profile picture, “last seen,” and status
✔ Preventing the minor from being added to groups by strangers
✔ Receiving activity updates (though not full chat content)
✔ Setting default safety limits for interaction with unknown users

This approach lets parents oversee safety without violating WhatsApp’s privacy protections — the actual message content remains encrypted and not visible to the parent.

🛡️ Why This Matters

As whatsapp is one of the world’s most widely used messaging apps, kids often access it early. Without parental controls, children can sometimes interact with unknown contacts or groups, which can pose safety risks. These built‑in supervision tools aim to give parents peace of mind while still allowing kids to use the app responsibly.

This feature is still under development and hasn’t been officially released, so we don’t yet have a firm launch date — but it’s already showing up in WhatsApp beta versions and feature leaks.

💡 In Short

WhatsApp is working on parental control features that use linked secondary accounts so parents can:

  • Set safety restrictions on their child’s account
  • Control who kids can message or join groups with
  • Get activity insights without accessing private chats
This will help families manage safety on whatsapp better than ever before once it officially rolls out.

 

Disclaimer:

The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any agency, organization, employer, or company. All information provided is for general informational purposes only. While every effort has been made to ensure accuracy, we make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, reliability, or suitability of the information contained herein. Readers are advised to verify facts and seek professional advice where necessary. Any reliance placed on such information is strictly at the reader’s own risk.

For more interesting updates click and follow Indiaherald WhatsApp channel

Find Out More:

Related Articles: